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I have gone back and forth, started the second egg shell and did a little more work on the egg white. I don't know if it really shows in this photo, but I made some adjustments on the values in the egg white, and in the bg. I found the reflections in the edges between the two shells to strong and pushed it back, but I still find it disturbing and might redo it completely. I also pushed back the patterns on both sides of the first egg shell, as it drew to much attention. I added a bit more "waves" in the egg white to make it look more fluid, and put in a few highlights in the bubbles. I'll leave the rest of the highlights until I have finished the yolk too, at this point I'll still go back and do more work on the egg white.

I love details, I guess that's kinda obvious! I am however trying to hold back on putting in details all over the painting, I don't want everything to compete. That's why I'm going back and forth between the shells and the white, as I want the yolk and the eggshells to be main focus of the painting. I'll finish the yolk and the reflections in it before I put in the last highlights, as that will be the focal point. I've left the yolk for last on purpose - that's my reward for doing the other things first... There's always parts of a painting that feels like work, and others that are pure fun. I tend to be a bit sloppy with the work parts, and I'm now trying to push myself to handle the work parts more seriously. I've changed the way I handle backgrounds quite a bit. When I started painting it came in as an afterthought, giving me all sorts of troubles. I have learned to plan the bg just as much as the rest, and consider it more while I work. It can even be a "deal breaker" for a painting if I don't get the bg right, there's a few pieces sitting around unfinished in my studio because I haven't figured out how to do the bg. In this case it's easy with the black, but than there's decisions to make regarding the surroundings of the egg parts - sharp/soft edges, warm/cool colors, saturated or neutral colors. I try to keep an eye on these things all the way and push myself to do the work, not just the fun parts. Yes, I have to admit I am lazy, I need to be more structured... And the reward is the yolk! The occasional procrastinating happens in these work stages, and if I get bored I'll leave the painting and start something new. I'm really trying to change that..

The second egg shell is probably almost done. I decided to go for a more colorful shell, and I have exaggerated the colors quite a bit compared to the ref. I think it'll work in the end though. It's the same colors as the first, and there's reflected color from the yolk so it should read right. Will see when the yolk is done, I'm going for warm yellows, reds and orange, and adjust the other parts after that. The reflection of the second egg shell isn't finished, I'm not sure how detailed it should be, I'll come back to it later on.

I'm doing this as a "warming exercise" (do you call it that in English..?) before I start a more complex composition. It's been a while since I painted eggs, and wanted to get a feel for it before I start a larger piece. I've been playing with the idea in my mind for a few weeks, and have gathered the things I need for the set up. I'm itching to get started, so this is the time for self restraint... That's just the best feeling, to have these ideas flowing and to feel the excitement of a new challenge - I love that feeling!

Looking really good Merethe... I think you just mentioned what I was about to comment on, the little broken edges on the eggshell...are they all the same value? Or is it just the camera speaking?

__________________Regards, Deirdre(Always pleased to get C&Cs!)[b] Don't forget - comment on other threads in the forum as well as posting your own work - also, we encourage you to post WIPs, they help others to learn as well as you.ModeratorPastels Getting started in Soft Pastels Uploading Images

I just love this already!
Im always amazed at those of you who can take an everyday object and create such a special painting with it.
Loving reading about your artistic painting style too
I can't believe Im so excited to see how a painting of eggshells is going to work out but this is going to be just fabulous

I love your work! I'm a detail person as well and find it hard to let loose. Guess that's why I have such a hard time with landscapes, although I'm practicing! I'm watching this along with everyone else! Can't wait to see the finish!

This looks so good already and the yolk isn't even in! Your luminous eggshells are just beautiful! Thanks again for explaining your thoughts in detail. It's always good to hear that it's OK to stray from the colors in the photo. I much prefer the artist's own interpretation.

Holy smokes, this is fantastic Merethe, and I am loving hearing your process as you work (and hoping to glean a few practices myself)! The values in the shell are wonderful with the added scale and the white is so appropriately gross and gooey looking. Love it!
Chuas

Stunning as always Merethe. I am thoroughly enjoying your thought process as this allows us to "pick your brain". Thanks so much for sharing your dialogue with us. Looking forward to the finish as well as the upcoming larger piece you have spoken about.

__________________
Pam"You should keep on painting, no matter how difficult it is...unless it kills you, and then you have gone too far." - Alice Neel

Stunning! And the egg yolk isn't even in yet! That second egg shell is georgous. I'm glad you're using your artistic license with the colors, that's what makes this a painting. I'm loving your wip Merethe, what a great gift to everybody here.

Hi all, thank you all for looking and commenting! I'm sorry I'm not able to be around as much as I'd like, I miss being able to check in every day. Well, it's just the way life is, right now I don't have enough time between work and family.

Deirdre - there are a little bit of grays and blue in the edges, but probably not enough yet...the camera will have to take the blame for some distortion too...!

Sarah - thank you for the lovely comment! It's fun to paint those everyday objects, though I'm not sure how I ended up here, lol! I think the main reason I paint them are just the fun of taking on new or challenging surfaces - you know, "Hmmm, this look kinda hard to do, can I pull it off....?". Gotta admit a few years ago I'd never even consider painting eggs - not to mention break them all over my coffee table... My sweet hubby still have that "are you crazy" look on his face every now and than - especially when he walks in after work expecting dinner and all he gets is a messed up and re-arranged kitchen because I had to catch the light.....the things we do for art...

Christine - hi, it's been a long time, nice to see you! I know, I keep practicing painting loose, I'd like to do landscapes as well. I haven't succeeded yet but I keep trying....thank you for the comment!

Orchid lady - thank you!

Jen - yes, that is what I meant! That's a saying in Norwegian, but for some reason it didn't sound right in English. Thank you for the comment!

Donna - thank you! It's more fun to paint your own interpretation too, and as I practice and feel more confident with my style of painting I've noticed I don't really study the photo as much as I did before. When I started I'd be nervous to step to far away from the photo, now I don't bother that much and are more focused on the painting. It's nice to see that hours of practice do pay off.

Kari - thank you so much, I appreciate it. I love your latest work btw, amazing!

Pam - thank you, I'm glad you enjoy it! I'm getting ready for the larger pieces, have worked out a few compositions and I'm eager to start working. Just have to finish this one first, if I don't it'll end up collecting dust with the other unfinished works....trying to be a good girl, getting better!

I have an update today as well. It's funny how time passes when I paint, I loose track and don't realize how many hours I've spent. Just got me thinking as I took the progress pics today, I spent 6 hours yesterday and here's what I did:

My reward for sticking to the "boring" stuff - the egg yolk. I usually work for 50 minutes, than take a 10 minute break and go back. Because I keep the drawing board flat my back won't cooperate more than that, lol! I watch tv-shows or listen to music while I work, it's never silent in the studio. 1 episode of a tv-show will take me through a working session, than I step out of the studio for a break. It works well as a way of spotting errors too, I get an overview of the work when I get back to it. I'll also take pics and turn them upside - down, or turn the painting upside-down to spot errors several times during the process.

Anyway, I was surprised to see how many hours that went into that yolk, I somehow had a notion of not spending that much time. I guess it indicates that the total amount of time I spend on a painting is higher than I thought. I have also worked some more all over, adding a little color here and there, removing some spots that didn't work, adding a line here and there - and will keep doing that. I still don't like the space between the egg shells, I'm going to re-do that area. I wasn't pleased with it before I painted the yolk, and it didn't get any better afterwards either, so I'll go back in there and change it.

The yolk is pretty much done, I may define the shadowed areas a bit more, and may adjust the highlights a bit more. I pushed the light glow underneath the yolk when I painted it, I like that "glowy" feeling - but I'm not sure if it works, I don't want the yolk to float. I'm also going to remove some of the foreground reflection of the yolk and the left egg shell. I didn't like the way it was going, so I stopped and did a small sketch of it yesterday to figure out a different shape for it. The edge of the reflection from the yolk is to hard as it is now so I'm going to give it a rounded shape. The distorted part of the egg shell reflection also look to hard, so I'll either leave it out completely or give it a round shape. I like the idea of a distortion due to the egg white, but it has to be solved in a different way. There's some value issues with the reflection between the yolk and the left eggshell as well, it's going to need some adjusting there.

I like the way it's turning out though, the La Carte works well for the egg. I did an egg shell piece I on Colorfix a few years ago and liked the result, but I don't have any large sheets of it. That's why I did this on a smaller sheet of La Carte, as a test before I go larger. Pastel supplies are not easy to come by around here, but strangely enough I can get La Carte in pads or sheets, in different sizes. Saves me a couple of weeks of waiting if I had to order online - and saves me money for shipping and taxes. And that means more money to by pastels....